I Won't Say I'm in Love
by Crazymusician22
Summary: L wakes up in a strange town after what he thought was his death. Was L reincarnated? Will he ever find his way back to Japan and Kira? Rated T just to be safe. Set after L's death but before end of series.
1. You can sit with me

**AN:** Well, this is my Death Note story! Hopefully you'll all like this as much as you liked the other ones? I really love Death Note and L especially.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Death Note or any of the characters within.

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L was confused.

This didn't happen, seeing as he was the greatest detective in the world. Or at least he thought he was. But if he had been then he wouldn't be standing there now, trying to figure out how he'd gotten there in the first place. He looked around the quiet square of the town, illuminated by the afternoon sun; the road paved in cobblestone and all the houses looked like little cottages. He sook refuge in the only place that he could associate with, a bakery. After entering the little bakery, it was revealed to actually be a cafe or a diner. His senses were immediately ravaged by the smell of baking bread and the sizzle of something being pressed to a grill.

The little cafe was decorated in pale yellows and golds with small, round tables and wire chairs, standard cafe decor, it seemed. The thing about the place that he wasn't used to was the wall decorations. There were shelves upon shelves, that, it seemed, you could put whatever you wanted on there and it became a kind of trophy. The shelves were already crowded and the fact that it seemed like more people were trying to squeeze more items onto it didn't help with the shelves' state of attachment to the wall.

After the initial cursory glance of the place, there were no open tables. This must be their only diner-type establishment. He stood glumly in the opening, hoping someone would vacate a table so he could sit down instead of standing here looking like an out-of-place idiot. He heard giggling to the left of him but when he turned to see if the person was laughing at him, all he saw was someone whose face was hidden behind a book. She lowered the book to reveal a grin, obviously aimed at him. He raised his eyebrows in response.

"If you're hoping for a table at lunchtime, you're going to be standing there an awful long time," she replied, moving her bag from the chair across from her, "You can sit here with me if you don't mind."

He examined her for a few seconds. She had long, black hair, pulled up into a ponytail with her bangs framing her heart-shaped face. On that face were deep brown eyes, which reminded L of chocolate and a tiny, button nose. With her sitting down, he couldn't tell her height or weight but he could see she was wearing jeans and a form-fitting, short-sleeved, black shirt with "got anime?" written on it in white.

"What, may I ask, is your name?" L asked, sitting down carefully in his customary crouch.

"Kiyomi, and yours?" she looked at him oddly when he sat down but refrained from saying anything.

"Ry-" he stopped. He couldn't use his old alias just in case, so instead he said, "Ryou. My name is Ryou."

"Oh, well, nice to meet you. Are you new to town or just passing through?" she signaled the waitress to come to their table.

L pondered over the idea of telling this person of his predicament. How he had just woken up here and didn't know how he had gotten there but decided against it because he knew he'd just sound insane. He quickly came up with, "Honestly, I wasn't happy where I was so, I left and ended up here in this quiet town and decided to get refreshment at this establishment. Tell me, how is the cake here?"

She stared at him for a few seconds then giggled while saying, "You're different aren't you? Well, the cake here is very delicious depending on what you're getting. I ordered strawberry cheesecake already if you'd like to try some to see if you like it."

"That would be preferrable, thank you," L shuffled in his seat, "So, you prefer cheesecake to any other kind or was that just your desire for the day?"

She smiled, "Honestly, it's a guilty pleasure of mine. I cannot get enough of the stuff."

"You do not need to tell me this. I, myself, am a connoisseur of sweets and strawberries are my favorite fruit. Your dessert will surely be delectable and I hope to procure some myself. However, I am unsure of my money supply. Honestly, I just came in here to relax," he admitted.

"Oh, it's ok. We can share mine if you want," Kiyomi offered with a smile.

"That would be wonderful, thank you," he brought his hand to the back of his head in embarrassment.

"It's no problem. So, if you have no money, where'd you plan to stay for the evening?" she inquired, leaning forward onto her elbows.

L paused, "I hadn't really thought that far ahead yet."

"Well, were you going to stay the night here at all?" she sat back.

He wasn't sure what to say. Thankfully, at that moment, the waitress came to their table with the cake and asked L what he wanted to drink. He simply told her tea with lots of sugar and picked up his took a bite of this acclaimed cake and he had to admit that it was possibly the best cake he'd ever tasted. He heard a giggle and looked up to see Kiyomi covering her mouth with her hand and an amused look in her eye.

"This is amazing," he decided to ignore her giggling.

"I can tell you think so by your face. You'd think you never had cheesecake before. Although, I must admit, the strawberries taste fresh. Of course, it is the best season for them," she lowered her hand so she could take a bite from the cake.

"To answer your earlier question I had planned on staying here but I don't have any money so I was just going to stay somewhere on the street," he replied after some thought and a few bites. Having some sugar helped jump-start his brain.

"That's nonsense! You can't do _that_," she seemed outraged.

"Well, I don't see that I have any other choice," he shrugged and reached out his fork again to pick up the last bite and held it out to her for her to eat.

She smiled, ate the piece then said, "You're staying with me whether you want to or not. Come on, I'll show you to my house." She tossed a few bills down then picked up her bag and book and headed outside. He had no choice but to follow, shuffling along behind her.

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**AN:** Well, this is just the first chapter. Sorry it's a bit short but it's just the beginning to get out there. There will be lots more, so don't fret ;) REVIEW OR I WON'T PUT OUT THE NEXT CHAPTER!! Haha, just kidding XD


	2. I like my privacy

**AN:** I AM SO SORRY! But, hey, here's another chapter. You're happy about this right? Right?

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L wasn't sure why he was staying with Kiyomi other than the fact that he had no where else to go. She led him to a two-story building. It seemed to be two-story apartments, kind of like townhouses. As she unlocked the door to the one marked number three, he looked around. There were two to the left and one to the right that all seemed to be occupied as there were lights on inside all of them. When she finally got the door opened, he followed her inside and stood in, what seemed to be, her living room, looking around.

"What do you think?" she asked, flipping on lights as she went from one room to the next.

"It is spacious for one person," he remarked.

"Yeah, I like my space," was her only reply.

"I see..." L wandered to the staircase.

"WAIT!" Kiyomi dove onto him, preventing him from going upstairs. The result was that he fell over into the wall with a resound "smack" and she landed on top of him.

"Ow," he groaned, rubbing the back of his head.

"I am SO sorry! Are you okay?" she asked, sitting up quickly and covering her mouth with her hands.

"I seem to be okay although when someone has a concussion, there are no outward signs so who knows if I'm really that alright?" he said, taking his hand from his head and examining it for blood.

She blinked at him then cracked a smile and said, "You're always serious, aren't you? Do you even know how to smile?"

"Yes," he replied, monotonously and straight-faced, "The muscles in my face are not so relaxed that I cannot smile. I am not sure that is physically possible."

"O-kay," poking his chest with each syllable. Then, realizing that she was still straddling him, she vaulted upright and walked toward the kitchen, trying to hide her blush, "Anyway, upstairs is off-limits. I like my privacy too. Your temporary room will be over here. Follow me."

He got up and did just that. Next to the kitchen was a small room that looked like a guest bedroom and a study combined. In a corner of the room was a Twin-sized bed with plain, white sheets on it. The floor and walls were bare, having no decoration. Against the wall closest to them was a desk with a pretty old-looking computer. Seeing this technology made L feel a bit more at home. It looked ancient but as long as it still connected to the internet then he'd still be able to access his files and bank accounts. He could easily transfer money to his current location and get a place of his own.

"So obviously, that's your bed. Your room is right next to the kitchen so if you have any night-time cravings you can come in here without worrying about waking me up," she said happily, moving back into the kitchen. He followed obiently, albeit reluctantly.

"What do you do?" he asked when they moved through the kitchen into the living room.

"Excuse me?" she seemed a little nervous.

"What do you do for a living?" he specified.

"Customer relations," she replied, stepping over to her entertainment center.

"Ah, that explains it," he said, sitting on her couch in his customary crouch.

"Explains what?" she asked, opening a cabinet under her TV where there were stacks of movies and video games.

"Your outgoing personality," he replied simply.

She smiled and said, "Yeah, I guess so. What do you want to watch?"

"Hm?" He hadn't really been paying attention to what she was doing but he saw that she was displaying a number of movies for them to watch.

"I figured we'd hunker down and watch a movie. Got any interests?" she asked.

"I don't really watch movies so I don't know any good ones," he said vaguely.

"Oh, well, that's fine. I'll pick our choice tonight and tomorrow, you can just look over the ones in here and decide which one sounds the most interesting to you," she explained, pulling out a few. She stared at the covers, trying to decide what to watch then, deciding on one, popped the DVD into her DVD player and then settled down next to him on the couch.

"What did you decide we should watch?" he asked.

"You'll see," she said, pressing play on the remote.

She skipped through the previews in the beginning of the DVD then the menu came up. She had chosen Jim Henson's "Labyrinth" and from what L could tell, it was a pretty old movie. The basic jist of the movie is a girl getting through a labyrinth to the castle in the center to save her younger brother who she had doomed to this terrible fate to in the first place. Gaining allies along the way is what basically gets her to the center despite obstacles placed by the goblin king, played by David Bowie, who, according to Kiyomi, was extremely hot and an amazing singer.

At the end of the movie, Kiyomi stretched and patted him on the head then headed off to bed. L, however, took advantage of her absense and got on the computer to check up on the task force.

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**AN:** Not too bad huh? Short...but the next one will be longer, I swear! And not too long between posts either. Hopefully.


	3. I'm an everything person, really

"Wake uuup!" Kiyomi called, stomping down the stairs. When she poked her head in to see that he was already awake, she smiled.

"You are a morning person, aren't you?" L asked from his bed.

"I'm an everything person really. You seem pretty awake yourself. Are those your only clothes, by the way?" she asked, pointing at his shirt and jeans.

"Yes. As you saw, I have nothing with me so I obviously have no change of clothes. I had planned on going and getting some," L said, wondering where the closest clothing store was.

"How were you going to get clothes if you have no money?" Kiyomi asked.

He looked at her blankly. Why did he keep forgetting that she thought he was broke? It must be the fact that he was thrown off from not knowing where he was. He looked over at the computer and was struck by an idea, "I inherited a small fortune from a wealthy relative who died recently. The reason I left my home was because my other family members were trying to usurp my inheritance. I'm on the run. I can contact the lawyer and have him deposit that money into a bank account so that I can access it. I will, of course, pay you for the night I spent here as well as subsequent nights that may be required until the assets are in my possession."

After his long rant, she just shrugged and said, "That's fine, you just slept in the bed, it's not like you racked up a huge bill or anything. Phone's in the kitchen-"

"By the fridge, I know," he finished for her. He had explored the whole of the main floor while she slept. Since he was forbidden from the upstairs, he did not go up there, although he wanted to so badly. He went into the kitchen, picked up the phone and dialed a number he knew by heart. Watari's cell phone rang and rang. L hoped that his life-long mentor and the closest thing he ever had to a father was alright. He seemed to remember something happening before he was here. Watari had erased all the files and locked down the main headquarters. He was only instructed to do that if something had happened to him. L couldn't afford to think of that right now so he quickly dialed the number for an automatic service to deposit the money onto an easily accessible card that could be picked up at the bank in the town.

"So what are you going to do today?" she asked as she pulled the milk out of the fridge, unscrewed the lid then took a gulp from the jug.

L stared at the motion in morbid fascination. When she offered the jug to him, he held up his hand in a protective gesture and said, "Um no thanks, I'm alright. I am going to go to the bank then look around for somewhere else to stay if you would like."

"Okay, it's like this. You're not going to be able to find anywhere else. I know, trust me. So you might as well just stay here. You can buy groceries or something if you really need a way to repay me," Kiyomi said quickly.

L just stared at her in stunned silence. His brain was working furiously, trying to figure out a way out of this terrible predicament. Finally, he just stated, "Well, I shall return with groceries in a short period of time."

"Alright, see you when you get back," she called.

L slipped on shoes and had made it as far as the sidewalk when he realized he had no idea where he was supposed to go. He turned around to see Kiyomi leaning against the doorframe with a smirk on her face. He looked away and said, "I don't know the layout of this town yet. Do you happen to have a map of some kind handy?"

She just kept on smirking but finally she pushed off of the doorframe, closed the door behind her and, while spinning her keys, walked up next to him. "Let me show you where to go. You need to go to the bank first right?"

"Um, yes," he replied, slightly bewildered but composed nonetheless. He followed her down a short path that took him to what he assumed was the main road through town since it was definitely the largest. She stopped him at the corner of the main road and another street and pointed down the side street.

"Bank's that way. The only one we have. I'll wait at this café for you to be done," she said gesturing at an outdoor café that sat on the corner.

"Fair enough; I shall return shortly," he replied, heading down the street to the bank he could see a few buildings down.

He stepped inside, shivering as a blast of cold air conditioning blew across his skin. He shuffled up to the counter, waiting for the teller to notice him standing there. She finished up what she was doing then looked up at him and smiled.

"How can I help you, sweetie?" she asked with a smile.

"Yes, I am here to pick up a money wire in the name of Ryou," he stated simply.

"Alright, can I see some identification?" she asked, holding her hand out.

Thankfully, he always had some kind of identification on him, no matter what. He held it out to her for verification and waited while she inspected it. He glanced around the bank in boredom and spied a bowl of suckers sitting on the adjacent counter. While the woman was typing away at her computer, he walked over to the other counter and grabbed a sucker out of the bowl, unwrapping it quickly and popping it into his mouth. Then, with a cursory glance to make sure the woman wasn't looking, he grabbed a handful and stuffed them in his pocket for later, grinning in satisfaction.

"Alright, hon, it looks like this is all I need. Here is a bank card with the money stored on it. I figured you didn't want to be walking around with all that cash," she said, handing him his I.D. and a debit card.

He was stunned into silence but was able to say, "Thank you, ma'am!" before shuffling quickly outside. He hadn't expected her to automatically know what he wanted like that. As he played with the sucker in his mouth, he contemplated his next move. Kiyomi was acting a bit strange about him moving out and that made him wonder about her. He decided that he would check out other apartment listings when she went to work or sleep. He stopped next to the little shop but she was sitting outside with a steaming cup and invited him to sit with her once again.

"This is beginning to be a habit," he stated simply, sliding into his normal position in the chair across from her.

"Well you always look so pathetic that I can't let you sit by yourself," she said with a small chuckle.

"What are you drinking?" he asked to change the subject.

"I'm drinking chai tea which is absolutely delicious. You should try some," she said, trying to flag down the waiter.

"I've never had it," he responded warily, knowing it wouldn't be sweet enough.

"Oh well, try mine," she offered, extending the cup across the table.

"I'm not sure I should," he said, eyeing the cup.

"Just try it, you big baby," she said, forcing the hot cup into his hands.

He decided to oblige her, if only to get her to shut up. He lifted the cup to his lips and took a sip. The tea slid over his tongue, igniting his sweet taste buds with the substantial amounts of honey and milk that had been added.

"I'm not sure if you'll like it that way I drink it. After all, I put a lot of honey in it," she said with a smile, "But you can ask for less."

"No, no, it's pretty good," he responded, handing her cup back over to her.

When the waiter came, L told him that he just wanted what Kiyomi was having. Once the waiter returned with his tea, L handed him his new debit card and assured Kiyomi that their tea was on him this time.

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**AN:** You guys hate me don't you? Please don't! I promise I won't keep doing this to you T_T


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